Clifford Hartleigh Low's research, experiments, and musings.

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THE RINGS OF THE DIPLOMAT: Sirius culminating, with a tightly applying conjunction of the Moon; the very fast Moon applying to both Benefics, and the Greater Benefic on the Ascendant.

While Jupiter is somewhat afflicted, overall this is a superb election for Sirius. The speed of the Moon, the Benefic on the Ascendant, and the amazing tightness of the conjunction of the Moon with Sirius on the Midheaven were all great fortitudes that together provided an election that is quite powerful and proportionately rare.

For the time being I don’t believe the solar eclipse of August 21 will have had a significant impact upon these elections; they ought to be fully out of orb.

This is an election that I’ve been eager to try out for an exceptionally long time.

Under the Greater Dog Star, they made an image of a hound and a little virgin; it bestoweth honour and good will, and the favor of men, and aerial spirits, and giveth the power to pacify and reconcile kings, princes, and other men. –Cornelius Agrippa

And elsewhere:

One part savine juniper juice with wormwood and bistort and a little serpent’s tongue put under a golden beryl, etc., grants the favor of the spirits of the air and the peoples of the earth, and brings peace and concord between kings and other potentates, and between husbands and wives. –Qundecim Stellis

The oldest obtainable coverage is more general and possibly is confused with the listing for Procyon which follows it in the text, and has no listed powers:

And Canis Major in his like
The fifte sterre is of magique,
The whos kinde is Venerien,
As seith this astronomien.
His propre ston is seid berille,
Bot for to worche and to fulfille
Thing which to this science falleth,
Ther is an herbe which men calleth
Saveine, and that behoveth nede
To him that wole his pourpos spede.

–The Confessio Amantis of John Gower

All things being equal, I lean towards the Quindecim Stellis as canonical over Agrippa’s fixed star sections; particularly the sigils. The Confessio Amantis material is valuable too, but mostly to reduce ambiguities and illustrate the evolution of the text.

To clarify this, talismans of Sirius:

Make people like and obey the wearer.

Make spirits like and obey the wearer.

Allows the wearer to resolve disputes between lovers.

Allows the wearer to resolve disputes between people of leadership and renown.

I’ve long said that the Ring of the Pleiades is the most important in the Quindecim Stellis; the most fundamental in plying one’s trade as an itinerant magician in the Early Modern Period. The Rings of either the Greater or Lesser Dog Stars and the Ring of Alkaid would be the ones to follow it; but considering that Sirius is the brightest star of all, it probably takes the lead. A magician with a Sirius ring would be able to be a supreme counselor for his liege or patron, and assist him or her in the governance of their fiefdom or estate. In exchange for generous payment.

On a personal level, I’m close to finally completing the full set of fifteen Behenian talismans as described in the Quindecim Stellis. Though a few of these I no longer have in my possession, the process of creating thirteen of these over the past decade have been as powerful an initiation as anything I can imagine. It hasn’t been easy, and when the fifteenth is completed I’m going to enjoy a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate.

Four rings were ensouled. The gemstones were golden beryl (with heavy inclusions) in silver bands. I would have prepared more, but golden beryl is very hard to obtain right now. I was indecisive about the suffumigation, and tarot suggested pine resin—not an obvious choice, but there’s little canonical guidance on this matter.

Obtaining the wormwood was easy. Obtaining the savine juniper was slightly more challenging. Bistort was difficult, and the chunks were hard to secure under the ring.

But serpent’s tongue is not for the squeamish. I ordered preserved constrictors from a educational supply house and dissected half. The process of rooting for the tongue was disgusting, and finding it inside a dead snake challenging. I have done some graduate-level work in Biology, and I don’t envy anybody with less training doing something like this. Just nasty.

The serpent’s tongue, just to be clear, is not a euphemism for an herb. It’s an organ cut from the body of a dead snake. There are no substitutions on this one. And it’s arguably the most important of the ingredients after the beryl itself, because of the associations between the persuasiveness and deceptiveness of a serpent, and its mythical speech.

I haven’t seen any effects from the one I’m currently wearing, but it clearly emanates power. I can hardly wait to see what this one will do.

THE RINGS OF MEMORY: Fast Moon in Domicile culminating, applying to both Benefics with fortunated Ascendant Benefic Ruler and Benefic in the 1st House.

Scholastic Image Magic arose in medieval monestaries but reached its greatest popularity among medieval and Renaissance physicians, according to contemporary research. It should be little surprise that a great deal of priority was placed on medicinal talismans as well as those which benefit study.

This is a talisman I’ve wanted to make for quite a while; it’s one of several configurations to enhance memory. As someone who optimally burns through about five hundred pages per day, it does me little good if I can’t recall it. Furthermore, I’m just about done wasting hours looking for that missing pen or sock or passage in Cervantes.

If, under the influence of the Moon, you make this sign in the hour of the Moon, with the Moon rising, in emerald, with this stone make a seal in incense and give it to a man for good memory, and to retain knowledge. –Picatrix Book II:10

Recently Chris Warnock was ruminating about the nebulous functions for standard Moon talismans, as opposed to Lunar Mansion talismans. He’s correct that the texts are a bit evasive, but I think it’s because the authors were assuming it was obvious and familiar to all readers. I’ve dug through the canonical literature at length, and I’ve come to some conclusions.

Moon talismans:

Improve memory, and in some configurations cause forgetfulness. The waxing and waning of the Moon signifies the transitory nature of memory. Other planets co-rule memory to a lesser degree, but it is primarily an attribute of the Moon. (One would be mistaken to assume waxing is always the retention of memory and waning is its loss, however.)

Cure the illnesses of infants, and sometimes older children. A very useful talisman if you’re a parent or a physician, but I’m neither so this is of limited interest to me.

Increase alertness and endurance, especially while traveling. The Moon signifies speed because it is the most rapid planet; it also signifies journeys. Before modernity, a Moon talisman would be used by a traveler to walk many miles without ever becoming tired. It would also be valuable for students who want to immerse themselves in lore deep into the night without forgetfulness.

Impart influence over mobs and riots, to gather and disperse them. The group consciousness of rioters is well known to be associated with the Moon; a social lunacy.

Improve likeability and influence over others, especially when the Moon is very essentially dignified. The Moon is always the cosignificator of the Self, and by adding essential dignity to any significator one gains influence, authority, and trust.

It’s very hard to find standard Lunar talisman elections because the rapidity of the Moon gives only one real chance daily for any configuration. Furthermore, Picatrix seems to indicate that the Moon should not be configured on the Ascendant, leaving only the Midheaven as the only reasonable alternative.

The difficulty of finding a valid Lunar election is why I was willing to produce these four rings during an extremely narrow eight minute electional window when the Moon was between 8 and 6 degrees of the Midheaven, never quite breaking into the 5 degrees that Ptolemy mentions before the arrival of Saturn Hour. I’ve already noticed its effects, so I know it’s working.

As noted before, the Moon was making loose aspects to the Benefics, the Ascendant Ruler was essentially dignified, and a benefic was in the 1st House. I particularly liked the high speed of the Moon, which I’ve come to believe is more impactful than Lunar phase in most instances. I believe this will contribute to the strength of the memory enhancement.

Four talismanic rings were ensouled, for the time window was short. The gemstones were emerald as required, and the band was silver—the metal of the Moon. I consulted with tarot for advice on the herb matrix under the gemstone and the suffumigation. The herb beneath the ring was black poppy seed—a Lunar herb—which has associations with the mind and mental states. The suffumigation was amber, which I believe signified the preservation of memory, like an insect preserved in amber.

Rather than use the primary talismans to create secondary talismans out of incense, as the instructions suggest, my goal was simply to make rings. This is partially because I was not casting in silver to make a negative talismanic mold for the incense, and because that seems to me a project best saved for when the Moon is within five degrees of the Midheaven. I may choose to make memory incense with these, but that is not my intention now.

There are many unusual talismanic recipes in Picatrix and other canonical texts of SIM. Some may puzzle you, but rather than dismiss them as aberrations I believe they have much to teach us about the nature of the spiritual universe. They also frequently have powers which you may think are irrelevant to your needs today, but will reveal their value tomorrow.

TALISMANS OF TRUST: Extremely dignified Mercury Ascending in Virgo with the North Node, with the Moon applying to a conjunction of Jupiter.

This project was full of all kinds of surprises, great and slightly bad.

My lost emerald cabochon which popped out of its ring at ConVocation and I’d deemed lost forever was found right before the election taped to the side of a box with packing tape. I’ve observe that I often lose a talisman when the planet it’s based upon is in Fall, and I recover it when it is Exalted. That’s seemingly what happened here. My lost Mercury spirit came back home, right on schedule.

And then, about 4/5ths of the way through the electional window– after I’d engraved the ymages but right before I added the vegetal component– my street had an hour long blackout. So I had to finish the project by candlelight. I did end up adding the herbs to the rings after the planetary hour had ended, but thinking quickly I dipped the rings in a tea of the herb and finished the whole thing before Mercury was fully off the Ascendant. I think it should be fine. Other than that, this was a pretty great election.

Mercury was greatly essentially dignified. In Domicile, Exaltation, and Term. Mercury was making a loose sextile to a Benefic and moving reasonably fast. The Moon was slow but waxing and applying to conjoin with Jupiter (finally Direct and gaining speed.) For the early part of the election, the North Node was on the Ascendant, adding much good fortune. The Moon’s Sign Ruler was succedent, which is good. The Moon’s Mansion is suitable for works of love and friendship, which seems compatible as well. The electional window was about thirty minutes for engraving, cut off a bit by the end of the planetary hour.

For the larger talismans I chose the Picatrix frog acceptability talisman in Picatrix II:10.

If, under the influence of Mercury, you make the figure of a single frog on the hour of Mercury, with Mercury rising, in an emerald stone, whoever carries it will offend no one. To the contrary, everyone you meet will speak well of you and say good things about your works.

“MERCURY” was engraved across the middle of the frog, though in one instance the word was placed on the back.

For the smaller, I used the Latin Picatrix Mercury sigil, which resembles the standard Mercury symbol but has a stem between the “horns” and circle, and the lower cruciform portion is slightly squashed.

For the herb below the rings I used aniseed. For suffumigation I used gum arabic, cloves and myrtle. It did not burn terribly easily, but it worked after a few tries.

The incantation was the standard long version of the Picatrix Mercury petition.

Six emerald ring talismans in gold wire were made. One additional green agate ring talisman with gold-filled wire was made. One moss agate tie clip talisman was made. Two loose brown agate cabochon talismans were made– brown agates protect against injuries, especially if made into talismans. A pair of very unusual lodestone/magnetite talismanic cufflinks were made. And finally, one large emerald cabochon talisman was made.

Ultimately only the cufflinks got the sigil. The remainder all got the Mercury frog, even the brown agates.

Secrets of the 36 Zodiacal Faces at PantheaCon 2015:

Clifford Hartleigh Low’s lecture on the “Secrets of the 36 Zodiacal Faces” at PantheaCon 2015. This class analyzes in detail Book II, Chapter 11 of the Latin Picatrix. This text instructs the student in the creation of thirty-six talismans of supreme power ascribed to the Zodiacal Faces (also known as Decans), while also containing some of the most mysterious passages ever written. This lecture describes many of these talismans and how to create them, and the discovery of the hidden meanings of the more cryptic passages which until now have not been revealed elsewhere. Discover why Cornelius Agrippa, Giordano Bruno, Abraham Ibn Ezra, and many others have found this chapter one of the most fascinating in all of magical and astrological literature.

This class is similar in content, but not identical, to the ConVocation 2015 lecture of a similar name.

Secrets of the 36 Zodiacal Faces at ConVocation 2015

Clifford Hartleigh Low’s lecture on the “Secrets of the 36 Zodiacal Faces” at ConVocation 2015. This class analyzes in detail Book II, Chapter 11 of the Latin Picatrix. This text instructs the student in the creation of thirty-six talismans of supreme power ascribed to the Zodiacal Faces (also known as Decans), while also containing some of the most mysterious passages ever written. This lecture describes many of these talismans and how to create them, and the discovery of the hidden meanings of the more cryptic passages which until now have not been revealed elsewhere. Discover why Cornelius Agrippa, Giordano Bruno, Abraham Ibn Ezra, and many others have found this chapter one of the most fascinating in all of magical and astrological literature.

Intersections of Scholastic Image Magic and Hoodoo

There are only the most circumstantial and speculative historical connections between Scholastic Image Magic and African-American Conjure, or Hoodoo, yet I have seldom seen two very different traditions create such amazing synergy when properly combined.

The most frequent implementations of this synergy I have used are the feeding of SIM talismans with Hoodoo condition oils in a manner similar to feeding mojo bags, the magnification of the power of Hoodoo oils, powders, baths and natural curios by placing them temporarily in the proximity of compatible SIM talismans, and the creation of Hoodoo formulae and mojos which incorporate astrological talismans.

To me, these are fairly straightforward combinations which make a lot of sense in the context of Al Kindi’s theory of stellar and terrestrial rays, and the odd fusions of celestial and natural magics which appear in the writings of Cornelius Agrippa.

But going beyond relatively fundamental research into further optimization of these hybrids is what I have begun to explore. These explorations include the usage of magical fragrances on the body as supplementation for suffumigations used in astral petitions which appear in Picatrix, and the selection of fragrances to extend and maximize the potency of SIM talismans one may wear or carry.

Planetary Flavors and Odors

Picatrix advises preparing for a planetary petition or talisman by consuming foods associated with that planetary hierarchy for as long as is manageable prior to the ritual. One manner of doing this in the case of Venus is by eating the animals of that planet such as goat, rabbit, deer or veal calf. Another is by using sweet and savory sauces. By consuming things that resonate with a particular planetary hierarchy, one harmonizes with it and, in a sense, one’s body gradually becomes similarly composed.

This process can be enhanced by using fragrances compatible with the planetary hierarchy in question, either by association through the incenses used in the suffumigation of the planet, like frankincense essential oil in place of frankincense grains for Solar rites, or the sensory similarity between the scent and the associated flavors, thus an intensely sweet and grass-spicy blend of scents for Venus.

For example, as William Lilly says of Venus:

In Savours she delightes in that which is pleasant and toothsome; usually in moyst and sweet, or what is very delectable; in smels what is unctious and Aromatical, and incites to wantonnesse.

Scent is associated with the Air Element and will help the magician both receive and project planetary power of the associated type. Suffumigations, and thus scents of all kinds, are a foundational pillar of SIM. The complexity and potential for their ritual usage is almost inexhaustible, as the many recipes for such in Picatrix reveal.

Hoodoo Considerations

This can be complicated by the fact that Hoodoo formulae have specific associations with olfactory signatures as well as sets of herbs and curios in the bottles. Hoodoo condition oil formulas have their own grammar and poetry, combining the meaning of scents and curios to produce unique variations of effect. It is my belief that the roots and curios produce terrestrial rays which are projected into the fragrances and impregnate them with signatures. When utilized, the Air element carries the scent and the signature of the curios into the wider universe to cause change.

When combining planetary work with Hoodoo, one can find some marvelous Hoodoo formulae which are entirely compatible with planetary work. For example, Commanding Oil and many of its cousins have strong Solar associations by scent, by function, by label imagery, and by curio. Placing a bottle of this near Solar talismans and then anointing yourself with it will not only give you a regal bearing that will accrue respect, but also make spirits of the Solar hierarchy find affinity with you and enhance the power of any Solar talismans you may be wearing.

Coherence Is Power

It is not an uncommon practice to use more than one Hoodoo fragrance at once. I use at least three daily: for protection, for prosperity, and for love or authority. Some Hoodoo products can be used for numerous purposes, like Van Van Oil and Fast Luck.

This can create problems with regard to planetary work.

When working in SIM styles of planetary magic, one needs to utilize objects or contexts where the particular planet or star’s rays can fully permeate and ensoul an object, person, situation or even idea. Much like X-rays pass through flesh with ease, bone more difficultly, and metallic lead hardly at all, everything has a different capacity to receive or absorb animating power from one or more stellar hierarchies. Gold receives the rays of the Sun and Saturn very well, and Mars poorly. A soldier receives the rays of Mars well, the Sun moderately, and the Moon and Jupiter poorly. An idea for a novel receives the rays of Mercury and the Moon well, and Mars and Saturn poorly.

This concept of “reception” permeates Picatrix’s theoretical discourses and causes confusion because the same term in English is used to describe certain planetary configurations. Reception is often understood to be (at least partially) a function of elemental qualities; so that things which fall under the power of the Sun have some affinity with those of Mars because both are hot and dry, and less so with the Moon which is cold and wet. Reception is a concept which replaces correspondence, so that every material or situation can become a vehicle for (or storage for) spiritual power, but to extremely variable degrees based on what flavor of celestial power is being utilized. It’s hardly ever a 1:1 association; that notion was borrowed somewhat sloppily from alchemy, which functions quite differently.

Another bottleneck on reception is whether any particular thing is a combination of two or more components together, and whether each fall under the same or differing celestial hierarchies. The more pure a specific planet’s associations are in any particular context, the stronger its hold over things in our world.

When planetary forces are mixed up too much, the power becomes muted and suppressed. It is the exact opposite of the notion of hybrid vigor. It is why magicians have done rituals to planets using consistent associations. The reason we don’t dress in blood red for Mars, use a Venereal incense, wear a brass crown of the mind for Mercury and black snakeskin boots for Saturn during a ritual to Jupiter and thereby gain the benefits of five planets rather than one is that this doesn’t work at all. It’s like riding a chariot with the horses running in completely different directions; you go nowhere fast.

When planetary forces are coherent and particularly pure, they have a greater ability to express themselves, much like a planet on the cusp of an Angular Mundane House. This is of course independent of Essential Dignity, so having Saturn in Leo expressing itself with maximal freedom is usually a terrible idea. One of the essential goals of celestial magic in SIM is to maximize this purity, or coherency. The effects become concentrated like a laser beam, and vastly more powerful.

This has relevance to the use of fragrances with planetary associations. If you use multiple fragrances, they should all have close associations with the planetary hierarchy you are working with. When you use scents that fall under two or more hierarchies, you will gain the benefits of each, but they will all produce muted results. If you instead use several magical scents that fall under a single planetary hierarchy, each will have greater power. Furthermore, any magics you perform when you have been using scents connected to a consistent singular hierarchy for days will be greatly enhanced.

Potentials

Scholastic Image Magic is a tradition which cannot exist in modernity without modification. While we practitioners aspire to be maximally Traditional, we all have necessary adaptions and minor heresies. Not many people are following Picatrix’s instructions on how to create an oracular head by waylaying a traveler and pickling their corpse, alchemical oil of feces sounds highly unpalatable, bullock sacrifices are expensive and challenging in an urban environment, and preserved antelope marrow is impossible to find, even on eBay. (I know. I’ve tried.)

Hoodoo has two qualities that make it useful to act as a plaster in the missing spaces where we cannot replicate what medieval and Renaissance men had access to. It is generally quite inexpensive; its most exotic ingredients are even less challenging than obtaining high quality lignum aloes. It is also a very successful adaption of traditional sorceries to the flora and fauna of North America, with reasonably well developed understandings of the signatures and properties of local resources.

But beyond this, magics of various traditions must to some extent exist in the same reality. Perhaps some operate on different planes of existence or operate on different principles rather than simply quirks of history, but there cannot be an infinitude of variants of magic which all function completely independently. Some must be capable of interacting, and interacting in a helpful manner.

I believe SIM and Hoodoo are among the most compatible in their interactions; an elegant collaboration of High Magic and Low Magic which wildly transcends the definitions and limitations of each.